Hobbit holds on to No. 1 spot; Zero Dark Thirty packs ’em in

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiny hobbit Bilbo Baggins is running circles around some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey took in $36.7 million to remain No. 1 at the box office for the second-straight weekend, easily beating a rush of top-name holiday newcomers.

Studio estimates Sunday put Tom Cruise’s action thriller Jack Reacher in second place with a modest $15.6 million debut. Based on the Lee Child bestseller One Shot, the Paramount Pictures release stars Cruise as a lone-wolf ex-military investigator tracking a sniper conspiracy.

Opening at No. 3 with $12 million was Judd Apatow’s marital comedy This Is 40, featuring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprising their roles from the director’s 2007 hit Knocked Up.

The road-trip romp The Guilt Trip, featuring Knocked Up star Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand, debuted weakly at No. 6 with $5.4 million over the weekend. and Playing in narrower release, the acrobatic fantasy Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away also drew light crowds, debuting at No. 11 with $2.1 million.

A 3-D version of Disney’s 2001 animated blockbuster Monsters, Inc. also had a modest start at No. 7 with $5 million over the weekend and $6.5 million since opening Wednesday.

In limited release, Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden manhunt saga Zero Dark Thirty played to packed houses with $410,000 in just five theatres, averaging a huge $82,000 a cinema.